Butte County to expand Internet connection to the world

OROVILLE >> Butte County has redesigned it web page and is in the process of expanding its web presence in social media as well in communicating with the press, the public, and county staff.

In April of 2012, the Board of Supervisors approved the launch of a program to greatly expand the county's use of the Internet to reach out to the citizenry.

This week Casey Hatcher, the county's program development manager, told the board, "While much progress has been made over the past two years implementing the plan, there is still work to be done to enhance communication with employees, improve coordination with the media, and increase public access to county information, programs, and services."

Hatcher said the basic question, was "How do we change the way we communicate with the public?"

The original county website gave the public with a large number of web links without "context" that made it clear what those links offered, according to Hatcher.

She said the goal is to provide more information, more clearly and with easier access.

Part of that has been the renovation of the county's website at www.buttecounty.net.

Beyond obtaining information, the new approach will provide a conduit where the public can express their concerns and thoughts directly to county leaders.

Currently, anyone can open the supervisors' agenda online at the county website and read the staff reports and other material related to each agenda item.

In the near future, according to Hatcher, the public will be able to post comments and opinions on the county website about the individual agenda items.

She also said the county is planning to develop a way so citizens can report problems like illegal dumping by the side of the road or serious potholes instantly.

Hatcher said the idea is a person could use a cellphone to shoot a picture of the trash or pothole and transmit it to the county.

The image would make it clear what the problem is and a GPS connection would pinpoint precisely where the problem is located.

All of this is part of the 2014-15 communication strategy, and it will be some time before these ideas and many others are in place.